What A Girl Eats

Reasons to be thin -  These are my own reasons.  But feel free to make them yours.

I can find clothes that I'm not ashamed to wear.
I can put my hoodies away in the Summer time.
I won't be ashamed of myself.
I won't feel like an embarassment to my husband, family, and friends.
I can go to clubs with my friends and look sexy while I dance!
I will be fine leaving the lights on during sex.
I won't look in the mirror and blot out the background with my size.
I can play sports in shorts instead of pants.
I can go swimming!
I will look awesome in a bikini!
I won't be the fattest one at my High School Reunion
I will have acheived a goal nearly 92% of the world populations fails at.
I will be able to say "At least I'm not fat!" (just in case I had to someday...haha)
I won't weigh more than my husband. (he is 6'3 and 157lbs)
I will have a whole new confidence.
I won't be self-conscious when I walk in the room.
I will have the confidence to pursue what I have wanted to my entire life - acting, modeling, and/or singing.  (Entertainment)
With a thin body, new doors will open for me.  New opportunities, and greater advancement!
I can be successful.
I will look at my before and after pictures and know I am better than I was.
I won't stare at those beautiful girls, whos thighs don't touch when they walk, and think "If only that were me".
I will be stared at by everyone as they think "If only that were me."
I won't be asked when I'm due.
I will be beautiful inside AND out!

This is an exerpt from http://health.indiamart.com:  I found it interesting.

Obesity

Obesity is technically defined as having a body weight in excess of 10% of the recommended weight for height. In practice though, being obese depends on the accepted cultural standards. People in the West are generally far more sensitive socially, as compared to the orient.

Obesity has assumed epidemic proportions in the developed nations. Enormous amount of money is being put to find methods to stay thin. Ayurveda cautions us that attempts to stay artificially thin may be unhealthy and may aggravate vata dosha. According to ayurveda people with a kapha constitution are more likely to gain weight as compared to pitta people and predominantly vata people are the least likely to gain weight. So efforts at reducing body weight must take into consideration a persons constitution also.

Causes:
Overeating, heavy food, cold food, excessive sleep, sleeping in the day and hormonal imbalances. Ayurveda believes that excess body weight is due to a weak digestive fire or the ‘agni’.

Remedies:
The main thrust is to improve the digestive fire with the use of appropriate herbs combined with the correct lifestyle.

Fasting is considered beneficial but care must be taken to avoid fruit juices during the fast. Vegetable juices and herbal teas should instead be taken.

Mild laxatives like Triphala (3-5 gm at bed time) or Aloe gel can be used.
1 gm. of Guggul with ginger and honey taken three times a day is good.
½ gm of Shilajeet with ginger and honey can also be taken three times a day.
Trikatu powder which is made with black pepper, long pepper and dry ginger is also very good for improving the digestive fire.
Hot spices like cayenne, black pepper, ginger and garlic should be used in cooking.

This is from a book called: RATIONAL FASTING by Prof. Arnold Ehret

RATIONAL FASTING is the light which for me illuminated the path to deep-seeded well being. It brought me clearly to the realizations that cooked and processed foods are poisons; that the only real foods for humans are fresh, uncooked fruits and vegetables; that fasting is the law of cure by which all the community of life heal; and that true health can only be achieved by one's own energies and actions. I am so humbly thankful because today I enjoy a level of robust health undreamed of in my earlier life. This is the experience of so many in the burgeoning raw foods movement, for whom Ehret continues to be an inspirational beacon.

If you understand Prof. Arnold ehret's simple and truthful message, then take action and live it. Take the knowledge, be wise in your decisions, remain undeterred by the naysayers (who will often be those closest to you), be inspired, and achieve your "Paradise Health." With a little effort you will find many who support you along the way. Today there are raw food restaurants, raw food retreats, fasting centers, growers of high-quality organic fruits and vegetables, uncook books, raw food pot luck dinners, and raw food support groups across the world. Just be sure they are following the tenets herein.

There is no single greater contribution you can make to your health and the well being of the Earth than to fast and live a raw vegan diet. It is the quiet revolution, and slowly and steadily it is happening.

Enjoy this book! I hope it will inspire you, as it has me, to create the physically, mentally, and spiritually vibrant life we deserve.

Fasting in the bible was done for spiritual reasons....so, it doesn't hurt to get closer to god.

As we look at the Bible it becomes evident that fasting was practiced more often than Christians usually practice it today. In fact, among most American Christians fasting is entirely neglected. I want to challenge you today to begin the practice of fasting. If you accept the challenge of God's Word to fast, I would like to provide some guidelines for you as you begin to make this a more regular part of your Christian life. The Lord will reward your efforts at fasting. Here are some individual guidelines for fasting:

1. Reach a personal conviction on the subject through careful Bible study. -- Get into the Word on your own. See what the Bible really says about fasting. Check the things that have been said here, read the Scripture references listed in this article and the ones listed below, and go deeper.

2. A physician's note: Make sure you are medically able to fast before attempting it. Some brothers and sisters that I know can only do a one-day partial fast. They drink different types of juice, but take no food or other liquid. God knows and understands their medical condition and does not expect them to harm their "temple" (1 Corinthians 6:19) in order to be spiritual. There are no rigid standards about fasting in the Bible that say you must do this or that.

3. Begin with short fasts and gradually move to larger periods of time if you desire. If you've never fasted before, you need to start slow. Don't start with a three day fast!

4. Be prepared for some dizziness, headache, or nausea in the early going. Most of our bodies have never gone without food for longer than a few hours.

5. Break a prolonged fast gradually with meals that are light and easy to digest. Trying to gorge yourself following a fast will only make you sick and will leave you with an unpleasant memory of fasting.

6. Enter with a positive faith that God will reward those who fast with the right motives. - Jesus gave this promise: "When you fast, your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:18).

7. Sometime during your fast, mix your fast with prayer, time in Scripture reading, singing, or devotional reading. Remember: fasting is not an end in itself. Seek the Lord, not the experience of fasting.

8. Keep checking your motives concerning your fasts. Hypocrisy and spiritual pride can easily creep in. There is a reward for fasting, but only fasting done with the right motives (Matthew 23:28).
   

SOME BIBLICAL REFERENCES ON FASTING
TO GET YOU STARTED

Evart Loomis M.D. -"Fasting is the world's most ancient and natural healing mechanism. Fasting triggers a truly wondrous cleansing process that reaches right down to each and every cell and tissue in the body. Within 24 hours of curtailing food intake, enzymes stop entering the stomach and travel instead into the intestines and into the bloodstream, where they circulate and gobble up all sorts of waste matter, including dead and damaged cells, unwelcome microbes, metabolic wastes, and pollutants. All organs and glands get a much-needed and well-deserved rest, during which their tissues are purified and rejuvenated and their functions balanced and regulated. The entire alimentary canal is swept clean.  By rebuilding immunity, health is naturally restored and disease disappears. If health and immunity are thereafter conscientiously maintained, the individual is no longer vulnerable to disease and dieting become unnecessary. Surely one of the most overlooked and yet most valuable modes of healing that will be rediscovered in the future of the new medicine is the fast. This is because of the increasing interest in looking to oneself for healing powers. For the fast is an inward process and cannot be entered upon only from an outer approach with any expectation of a lasting benefit. The person must invariably be involved with the overall results. This therapeutic encounter is in direct contrast to the usual non-involvement in the physician-directed, disease-oriented medical practice of today."

Patricia Bragg Ph.D.- "Proven throughout history for physical, mental and spiritual rejuvenation, fasting promotes cleansing and healing; helps normalize weight, blood pressure, cholesterol; rebuilds the immune system; and helps reverse the aging process. If we are to get these poisons out of our bodies we must fast. By fasting we give our bodies a physiological rest. This rest builds Vital Force. The more Vital Force we have, the more toxins are going to be eliminated from the body to help keep it clean, pure and healthy."